You don’t have to walk to win, but it sure makes it easier. The top six teams in walks made the baseball playoffs last year. The Twins are fourth in the majors in runs this year despite being 17th in batting average and 22nd in home runs mostly because they lead in walks.

The Twins swung at less than 40 percent of all pitches thrown to them in April, something no team in baseball did for any month last year. Joe Mauer is off to a slow start and Josh Willingham has been hurt, yet the Twins’ offense is better than ever because of a drastic change in philosophy.

Why haven’t Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer done the same for the Cubs? They are supposed to believe in walks as much as Billy Beane, whose A’s have been in the top five in baseball in walks the last three years. Instead, the Cubs rank 27th in runs and 21st in walks. They were 22nd and 27th in walks in Epstein’s two previous years.

The Cubs have changed their philosophy from signing free agents to developing minor leaguers, but they won’t turn into a winner until they change their 40-year-old free-swinging tendencies and become more discerning hitters.

The Brewers offer proof that you don’t have to walk to win, posting baseball’s best record despite ranking 26th in walks. That’s mostly because Milwaukee has won with unexpectedly strong pitching. The Brewers are only 14th in runs. ESPN.com’s David Schoenfield doubts the Brewers can keep winning without walking more.

Two-edged safety

I’ve written before that the Bears should try to draft two safeties, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (or Calvin Pryor if he’s gone) in the first round and NIU’s Jimmie Ward in the third. Ward now looks like he won’t last past the middle of the second round at the latest. I’d still try to get two safeties, but even one could be a double-hit as taking Clinton-Dix would prevent the Packers from filling their biggest need. If Clinton-Dix is still on the board at No. 14, he would be the most-obvious Bears’ pick in years.